Double-swing-door operating device



Patented Apr. 6, 1926.

UNITED STATES 1,519,751 PATENT OFFICE.

EVERETT HUCKEL BICKLEY, OF UPPER DARBY, PENNSYLVANIA.

DOUBLE-SW11! G-DOOR OPERATING--DEVICE.

Application filed March 14, 1924. Serial No. 699,829.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EVERETT HUoKnL Brenner, of 107 Hampden Road, Upper Darby, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Double-Swing-Door Operating Devices; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

The nature of the invention consists in providing brackets on the uppermost portion of the doors, so shaped and so connected by means of a bar that the opening or closing of one door will effect the opening or closing of the other door. Further I have so proportioned these brackets that the one door will open sufliciently for a person to enter without disturbing the other door, but if the first door is opened further the second door will be caused to swing open reaching the full open position at substantially the same time as the first door. By means of a spring and slip joint which I have provided in the connecting bar, the first door will close of itself when brought to approximately one foot from the closed position. Other advantages of my invention will be seen and pointed out hereafter.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a plan view of my device showing several positions of the doors and operating device. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the doors, partially open, from the inside of a garage, showing the device holding the doors from swinging in a breeze.

To enable others skilled in the art to make use of my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation. My device was primarily designed for application to garage doors of the swinging type, so that the opening of one door will cause the opening of the other; so that while open they will be prevented from swinging shut by the action of the wind; so that one door may be opened sufiiciently to permit a person to enter without opening the other door; so that by closing and locking one door, both are closed and locked. As will be seen from the following description my device is simple to manufacture and install, simple in operation and not liable to get out of order. It may be adapted to operating all doors of this nature, and I do not limit myself to this application, construction or use only. In the drawings, A is the wall of a garage on which are hinged the garage doors B and C designed to open outwardly. Door B is provided with a strip D which overlaps the edge of door C in the closed position and prevents it from being opened unless door -B is first opened. The usual stops in the floor and on the lintel are provided to prevent the doors from swinging inwardly, and are located at E and F. Door B is provided with a bracket G located near the upper edge of the door. A connecting member H is pivoted in bracket G and bracket K, which in turn is fastened to door C. These brackets K and G are mounted low enough so that the connecting member H and brackets K and G clear the lintel and stop F when the doors are opened and closed. The connecting member H is provided with a telescopic slip joint, allowing only a small amount of motion, for the ordinary doors about 2", shown at L and the spring M which tends to hold the slip joint fully extended. Door B is further provided with chain bolts N and l at the top and bottom of the door which in turn are operated simultaneously by the lever Q. A handle (not shown) on the outside of the door B with a shaft T extending thru the door serves to hold and operate the lever Q. A night latch suitably located at R with cylinder extending thru the door B, serves to lock the operation of the lever Q. A stop block is provided in the earth at S having a hole adapted to receive the chain bolt P when the door B is in the fully opened positioned.

The operation of my device is as follows, assuming the doors in the closed position. The night latch R is released, and the handle on the outside of door B is turned thus operating the lever Q which in turn releases the chain bolts P and N. The door B is now free to be pulled open, but in doing so the spring M will be compressed approximately 1 ,4 while the door is moving out one foot. As the door B is moved until 2 feet open, the compression in the spring M is gradually released, the door C being motionless up to this point. Any further motion of the door B pulls on the rod H thus causing the door C to swing open, it will be seen from a study of the various lengths and proportions of the parts that when the door B is fully opened, the door C will likewise be fully opened. The chain bolt P is now allowed to drop into the hole in the stop block S, thus holding both doors rigidly in the full-open position. In closingthe door B my device will cause the door C to speed up and reach the closed osition when the door B is still 2 feet from eing closed, then the spring M will be compressed until door B is one foot from being closed. Any further motion of door B will adually release I y I the compression in the spr ng M the action of which is to cause the doorv B to close of being blown shut by the wind, regardless of its direction or intensity. The wind which tries to blow one door shut tries to blow the other door open, and due to the doors belng connected by my device the tendency to either open or shut is practically balanced. Another advantage of my devlce is the ease with which garage doors may be handled in a strong wind. They may be closed or opened with little efi'ort in a strong wmd due to this balancing action. The rivet pm which is used in the slip joint is inserted after the spring is compressed 2 which puts an initial compression of about 60 pounds in the spring M. This compression serves to hold the doors tightly closed when shut, and prevents any rattling due to wind blow- 1n Tlaving thus described the construction and operation of my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In double swinging doors a compressible member coacting on said doors, and so pivoted with respect to the hinges of said doors as to cause said doors to spring closed when nearing a closed position.

2. In a double door operating device brackets on said doors, a bar connecting said brackets to hold one door closed while the other is partially opened, and to cause full opening of the one when the full opening of the other is reached.

3. The combination of a pair of doors mounted to swing together to close an opendoors, and connecting ro ing, and rneairs including a slip joint for connecting said doors arranged to move with one door a predetermined distance -before transmitting motion to the other door.

. 4. The combination of a pair of doors mounted to swing together to close an opening, brackets mounted res ectively on said means between said brackets, one end of said means having an offset pivot whereby the opening of one door causes said means to SWlIlg about said pivot without transmitting motion to the other door until said first door has moved through a predetermined arc.

5. The combination of a pair of doors mounted to swing together to close an opening, and a connection between said doors arranged in oti'set parallel spaced relation to move one door a predetermined distance before transmitting motion to the other door.

6. The combination of a pair of doors mounted to swing together to close an opening, and a longitudinally movable connection between said doors arranged in offset parallel spaced relation to move one door a predetermined distance before transmit ting motion to the other door.

7. The combination of a pair of doors mounted to swing together to close an opening, and a longitudinally movable spring tensioncd connection between said doors arranged in ofiset parallel spaced relation to move one door-a predetermined distance before transmitting motion to the other door.

8. The combination of a pair of doors mounted to swing together to close an opening, and a pivoted connection between said doors to permit one door to move a predetermined distance before moving the other door; the pivotal connection with the initial movable door being offset inwardly from the Vertical plane of the pivotal connection of the second door and'the hinge pivot of the first door whereby motion is not transmitted to the second door until the first noted pivotal connection crosses this plane.

EVERETT HUCKEL BICKLEY. 

